


Five Nights at Min-Ki's

by magicgenetek



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Ghosts, Investigations, M/M, Pre-Canon, Puppets, five nights at freddy's pastiche
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 13:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3490649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicgenetek/pseuds/magicgenetek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As leader of the Equalists and a self proclaimed liaison of spirits, Amon sometimes takes on missions that no other Equalist could handle. But can Amon and Lieutenant handle a night at a restaurant full of haunted puppets?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Nights at Min-Ki's

"What's next?" Amon asked. The stack of papers and files filled with the woes of nonbenders rarely wavered even as Amon sent Equalist agents to assist in them; the fact that it had lowered over the last week meant that his right hand had found something big.

Lieutenant had a file the size of a large book in his arms, and it hit the desk hard enough to shake it. "Have you heard of the gambling house and restaurant Min-Ki's?"

"They serve mediocre but stylish Earth Kingdom food, they have slot machines, and they entertain customers with life-size puppets who sing and dance," Amon answered. Some of the Equalists had saved up specifically to watch the shows, and

"That's part of it," Lieutenant said.

"Let me guess. The gambling is run by some kind of criminal organization - "

"That's what I thought when I heard there were disappearances there, but that's not the case," Lieutenant said. "It's all legitimate. The owner immigrated here ten years ago after his first restaurant failed. No signs of corruption except bribing the police."

"About disappearances?" Amon asked.

"Yes." Lieutenant pulled out papers with lists of names and dates. "The problem isn't the mob. We'd have heard if it was. The problem is that security guards there keep disappearing. They primarily hire scabs and nonbenders who can't get work elsewhere, and their applications have fine print that say they don't have to tell the police if someone dies or vanishes for 90 days. And going by their hiring list... No one's made it past three nights there without disappearing. For two years. "

Amon's hands tensed on the desk. "What. How many - ?"

"Almost seventy. Their bribes have been for body removal, and the families get a lump sum after ninety days from an 'anonymous donor'."

"It sounds like a guilty conscience to me."

Lieutenant nodded. "Some poking around found where the latest body was disposed of. It looked more like an animal attack than a murder. The photos are still in the dark room, but - humans don't have teeth that could have left the bite marks we found."

"I see." Amon's mind flipped through possibilities. "Secret animal fighting ring, perhaps?"

"Or spirits," Lieutenant said. "That's why I brought this case to you."

Spirits. Of course. That would make sense - and he was the expert on spirits, after all. Even if his experience was limited to tundra spirits, library foxes and the unresting dead, and not the liaison of power he said he was - it was more than most in the city.

"So we're going to investigate."

"Yes." Lieutenant pulled out a paper and set it in front of Amon -  a job application. "How do you feel about being a guard for five nights at Min-Ki's?"

~*~*~

Min-Ki was not the owner. The owner was a minor Earth Kingdom noble who left well before closing, and left the introductions for new guards to a hastily leaving security guard. It was easy enough for Amon to let Lieutenant in once the coast was clear.

Min-Ki was a man sized vulture-bear puppet. Limbs limp and head low without puppeteers to animate him, Min-Ki looked more like a hanging corpse than 'an icon beloved by children.' The turtle-duck puppet's cheerful bib looked out of place under a mouth with two sets of teeth. Amon could swear that the rabbit monkey puppet's eyes were following him when he turned his back.

Even the fox-seal was unnerving. He'd grown up around them, sure, had seen the babies, had killed and eaten a few fox-seals. Hunting two tons of blubber and teeth armed with bloodbending and a spear was one thing. Having the teeth and backbone of a human giving him the evil eye was another. He was glad he could keep the curtain shut on that one.

CRASH!

He didn't turn as Lieutenant popped open the vent in the guard's office and crawled out, dusting his hair. "Those are surprisingly clean air vents," he said. "Any sign of someone showing up to explain the job?"

Amon shook his head. It was also unnerving, being maskless. Wearing bandages on his face didn't give the same security. "The day guard said it would all be explained."

"By who? The puppets?"

Amon twitched. "I keep thinking the rabbit-monkey is watching me."

"You can get your mask back in...six hours and two minutes," Lieutenant said, checking his watch. "They really are creepy, aren't they? Hanging from the ceiling like overripe fruit."

"The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better," Amon said. "If I wanted to hang around limp bodies, I'd work at a hospital."

Whirr. A phonograph in a corner stirred and began to play.

"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Hello,and welcome to Min-ki's. Um, I wanted to record a message for you new guards. I'm actually finishing my last week of work myself. Um, I just wanted to discuss some of the fine print of your work, where it says that if you disappear, the police will not be notified and your family will get money?"

Amon and Lieutenant exchanged a glance but didn't speak - phonographs just didn't play on their own. Ghost shit was going down.

"Um, you see, the puppets were made using bodies as molds. Sometimes they get a little restless and wander around at night, you know?" Creaaaak. "I'd be restless too if I had to dance and sing all day! They're not too bad, you know, since they're the heart of the house, but they get a little quirky around adults. Um, I think they think you're another puppet mold and try and turn you into a puppet."

Lieutenant muttered something that'd make a sailor blush. Amon's gaze swept to one of the doors into the office. Wordlessly, he took a candle and match from the tble and lit it -

Revealing the rabbit-monkey grinning with two sets of teeth.

He slammed the door shut and locked it; he hadn't realized his heart could beat so fast. Things that had no heart beat weren't supposed to move like that and it had been watching him and - this was. A bad idea.

"Um, you need to use the candles to check the doors and make sure they don't get in, ok? But, uh, you can only guard one door at a time..."

"Good thing there's two of us," Lieutenant said, and slammed the other door shut in the turtleduck's face. "Five hours and fifty minutes until our shift is over."

Amon groaned.

~*~*~

Seven hours and substantial bruising to his ribs later, Amon rolled into bed without bothering to undress. He had survived his father's training, multiple animal attacks, and being a wanted criminal with what he considered considerable grace given the circumstances, but having a bunch of puppets making faces at him in dim candlelight for six hours had tested his patience.

The fox-seal couldn't get in with the door shut, but oh how it kicked at the door - and Amon through it - when it was stymied! The only reason Amon hadn't tried to take on all four of them then and there in a snap of lost temper was Lieutenant's trusting gaze while the turtle duck drummed on the woks in the kitchen.

"I wasn't ready for Min-Ki," Amon groaned. 

"We'll be better prepared tonight," Lieutenant said. He stripped off his guard uniform with liquid grace and slid into bed next to Amon, wrapping his arms around him as warmly as any blanket. "We'll bring the exorcists and see if they can figure out how to get those puppets to fuck off."

"Good plan," Amon said. He kissed Lieutenant. "I love it when you swear. We'll take the owner down once the puppets have been put to rest."

"What do you think of burning the restaurant?"

"As long as we can keep it contained," Amon said. "Over seventy deaths by haunted puppet... if we have to commit arson to save lives, it will be done."

"As you command," Lieutenant purred.


End file.
